Green Mountain State law enforcement reports that a family of three from Vermont, one of whom was an elected politician, was shot and killed in their own home over the weekend.
The three people were first listed as “suspicious deaths,” but according to Vermont State Police’s amended news releases, it is now thought that they were slain by homicide.
The victims, Brian Crossman Sr., 46, his wife Erica Crossman, née Pawlusiak, 41, and Colin Taft, 13, Brian’s stepson and Erica’s son, were named by law enforcement on Tuesday.
Crossman was voted to the select board earlier this year in Pawlet, a small town in Rutland County that is about 85 miles directly south of Burlington. The sequence in which law enforcement became involved in the terrible triple homicide case underscores the enigma that still to be solved.
According to state troopers, authorities first received a complaint about a “suspicious person” early on Sunday morning. Around 3:45 a.m., the first call was received.
According to the initial news release, “a subsequent investigation led the state police to a residence on Vermont Route 133, where troopers located the deceased victims.”
Law officials reaffirmed their knowledge of the crime late on Sunday night, stating that further investigation has shown that all three deaths “are considered suspicious.”
The identities and causes of death of the victims were disclosed by the state medical examiner on Tuesday. Erica Crossman passed away from a single gunshot wound to her skull, while Brian Crossman died from several gunshot wounds to his head and torso. The only description of Colin’s deadly wounds was “multiple gunshot wounds.”
Troops stated, “All three deaths were ruled homicides,” implying that investigators think the three victims were all murdered.
But law enforcement is perplexed by more than just the timeline. There have been several descriptions of the suspicious individual who sparked the police response on that particular day.
“There was a report of a person that had some blood on them,” Vermont State Police Maj. Dan Trudeau stated. “That they saw on the roadway.’
State police told that a follow-up phone call brought them straight to the crime scene. However, it seems that the one who was allegedly coated in blood did as well.
“We ended up detaining this person,” Trudeau added. “Described getting to the house, and finding deceased bodies inside.”
The individual with blood on them, who was also referred to as a “person of interest,” was reportedly waiting for authorities at a local elementary school, according to residents quoted in the Bennington Banner.
The neighbor went on to add that Brian Crossman had recently taken over the family’s farm, which had been in the family for generations, on the land where he was killed.
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“He was cleaning it up and working the farm,” according to the neighbor. “I think he was just trying to make a new start and trying to run the family farm. And, yeah, this just is, like, the last thing I expected.”
The Crossman clan also had never done public duty before.The community is not in danger, according to the police, although they did not explain why. The inquiry is still on.
